Whole Funk & Nothing But The Funk

he two-CD anthology The Whole Funk & Nothing but the Funk: Definitive Funkadelic 1976-1981 draws more or less equally from the four albums that Funkadelic put out on Warner Brothers between 1976 and 1981, as well as including live versions of "Cosmic Slop" (recorded at a 1976 tour rehearsal) and "Maggot Brain" (source undisclosed), and instrumental versions of "One Nation Under a Groove" and "Electric Spanking of War Babies." While this was the period that saw their greatest commercial success (particularly with the 1978 One Nation Under a Groove album, and the single of the same name), it wasn't quite as exciting or innovative as the material they'd recorded in the first half of the 1970s for Westbound. For that reason, the two-CD compilation of Westbound material Motor City Madness: The Ultimate Collection might have the edge on this one, if you're collecting Funkadelic on anthologies rather than individual albums. If you are sticking to anthologies for your Funkadelic fix, The Whole Funk & Nothing but the Funk does make a good companion volume. It's filled to the gills with music, for one thing, packing two hours and 15 minutes into two discs. It also has, as you'd expect, their most well-known songs from the period, "One Nation Under a Groove" and "Electric Spanking of War Babies," as well as plenty of other illustrations of their eclectic mix of funk, off-the-wall humor, and rock (check "Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!" for all three). George Clinton biographer Lloyd Bradley contributes the liner notes. ~ Richie Unterberger|